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RC power for my picaxe

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By maneuver

October 30, 2009
maneuver's picture

I'm using RC ESC's to drive the motors in my current robot project. These speed controllers has a built in power regulator (called a BEC) that is meant to power your RC receiver. I've measured and the voltage produced is a steady 5.03 Volts.

Can any of you think of a reason why I couldn't or shouldn't use this as power source for my Picaxe 28x1 ? 

 

Can't seem to insert hyperlinks with Opera browser on my old iMac, so here are a link if you wanna read more about RC ESCs or BECs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_speed_controller

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_eliminator_circuit

 

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By OddBot
@ Sat, 2009-10-31 04:24
OddBot's picture
The BEC should put out at least 100mA @ 5V which is perfect for your picaxe and sensors. They are an ideal power supply/speed control for robots.
By maneuver
@ Sat, 2009-10-31 08:39
maneuver's picture
I trust you and the DAGU crew will develop the ultimate small-size robot ESC/BEC and get'em made dirt cheap, and sell'em here really soon?
By voodoobot
@ Sat, 2009-10-31 00:06
voodoobot's picture
It should have plenty as they usually connect to the receiver that can power 1 or more servos. I've run two servos off of things like this, not to mention 4 micro servoes.
By maneuver
@ Fri, 2009-10-30 23:28
maneuver's picture

bot 5 volts is cool right? because the manual is a bit unclear. OK I admit that I'm not fluent in English, but somehow it seems like the manual is suggesting that Picaxe 28x1 runs on4.5 volt OR 6 volt, nothing else...

How about running the 'axe of Ni-Mh 6 volts BTW, is that cool? 

By ignoblegnome
@ Fri, 2009-10-30 23:44
ignoblegnome's picture
Picaxe runs at 4.5V or 5V just fine.
By 14karma
@ Fri, 2009-10-30 21:38
14karma's picture
BEC replaces the 4 AA battery pack that a lot most RC cars use to power the receiver and servos.  
By ignoblegnome
@ Fri, 2009-10-30 15:27
ignoblegnome's picture

Any idea what the current rating on the Battery Elimination Circuit (BEC) is? If it has enough current to meet the demands of your Picaxe, it should be fine.

If the Picaxe tries to draw more current than your BEC can supply, what could happen? Will it overload and melt? Will it just start lowering voltage? Is there any built in current protection on the BEC? I found a FAQ that describes some disadvantages of a BEC.

http://www.ezonemag.com/pages/faq/a506.shtml

I think you will be fine using it, but best go in understanding what you have.